Tutorial Assets

1. How to Create a Denim Texture

First of all, I'll show you how you can create your own denim texture using Photoshop filters. If you prefer, you can skip these steps and download the denim texture from the tutorial assets.

Step 1

Start Adobe Photoshop and open a new document (Control-N) with 1024 x 1024 px and a resolution of 72 DPI. Then go to Filter > Filter Gallery... and select Halftone Pattern from the Sketch folder and use these settings:

Size: 2

Contrast: 20

Pattern Type: Dot

Hit OK.

Step 2

Go to Filter > Pixelate > Mezzotint..., set Type to Fine Dots, and hit OK. Then go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur..., and set the Angle to -45° and the Distance to 20 px. Hit OK.

Step 3

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise, and set the Amount to 10% and Distribution to Gaussian. Check the Monochromatic box and hit OK. Then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, set the Radius to 0.5 px, and hit OK.

Step 4

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels and set Inputs to 21 - 0.52 - 199 and Outputs to 53 - 163. Then select the Background layer and go to Edit > Define Pattern, change the name to denim-texture, and hit OK.

Done. You have just created your own denim texture which we will use in our Photoshop action. We could finish it with a blue color overlay, but I like to leave it in shades of gray, which lets you change the texture to any color later.

2. How to Set the Background and Add Text

For this Photoshop action, I chose the wood planks background, which you can get from the tutorial assets, but it is not mandatory for the action to work.

Step 1

Open the wood planks image (Control-O). Then hit Control-Alt-I, change the Resolution to 72 Pixels/Inch and the Width to 850 px, and hit OK.

Step 2

Take your Type tool (T), change the font to Varsity Team Bold, and set the Size to 450 pt. Then write "JB" on your artboard.

3. How to Start Recording a Photoshop Action

Now we are going to start recording a Photoshop action. It's important to follow the steps in order and to avoid unnecessary mouse clicks and keystrokes.

Step 1

Hit Alt-F9 to open your Actions panel. At the bottom of this panel, hit the Create new set icon, name it Jeans Action, and hit OK. Then hit the Create new action icon next to it and name it Start. Now hit the Record button and start recording the Photoshop action.

Step 2

To start off our Photoshop action, right-click on the JB layer in your Layers panel and select Duplicate Layer, name it jeans-base, and hit OK. Then right-click on the jeans-base layer and select Duplicate Layer again, name it jeans-rim, and hit OK.

4. How to Create and Style the Jeans Rim

Step 1

Right-click on the jeans-rim layer and select Blending Options. Then set the Fill Opacity to 0%.

Step 2

Add a Stroke with Size of 16 px, set the Position to Outside, and hit OK. Then right-click the jeans-rim layer and select Convert to Smart Object.

Step 3

Right-click on the jeans-rim layer and select Blending Options again. Now add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

Style: Inner Bevel

Technique: Smooth

Depth: 888%

Direction: Down

Size: 2 px

Soften: 0 px

Uncheck the Use Global Light box

Angle: 135°

Altitude: 30°

Highlight Mode: Linear Burn with color #000000

Highlight Mode - Opacity: 27%

Highlight Mode: Color Dodge with color #ffffff

Shadow Mode - Opacity: 44%

Step 4

Add a Texture for the Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

Pattern: denim-texture (the one you have created before)

Scale: 50%

Depth: 95%

Step 5

Add an Inner Shadow with these settings:

Color:#6b6b6b

Uncheck the Use Global Light box

Angle: -45°

Distance: 6 px

Choke: 45%

Size: 5 px

Check the Anti-aliased box

Step 6

Add a Color Overlay with these settings:

Blend Mode: Overlay

Color:#224d66

Opacity: 80%

Step 7

Add a Pattern Overlay with these settings:

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 100%

Pattern: denim-texture

Scale: 50%

Step 8

Finally, add a Drop Shadow to our Photoshop text effect with these settings:

Blend Mode: Multiply

Color:#000000

Opacity: 80%

Uncheck the Use Global Light box

Angle: 90°

Distance: 2 px

Spread: 0%

Size: 3 px

Check the Anti-aliased box

Hit OK to apply the text effect.

This is the result of the text effect applied to our Photoshop action.

5. How to Create and Style the Jeans Main Layer

Step 1

Select the jeans-base layer in your Layers panel. Right-click on it and select Blending Options. Now add a Stroke with Size of 15 px, change Position to Outside, and hit OK. Then right-click this layer again and select Convert to Smart Object.

Step 2

Right-click on the jeans-base layer and select Blending Options again. Now add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

Style: Inner Bevel

Technique: Smooth

Depth: 100%

Direction: Up

Size: 49 px

Soften: 0 px

Uncheck the Use Global Light box

Angle: 180°

Altitude: 30°

Check the Anti-aliased box

Highlight Mode: Color Dodge with color #ffffff

Highlight Mode - Opacity: 30%

Highlight Mode: Linear Burn with color #000000

Shadow Mode - Opacity: 13%

Step 3

Add an Inner Shadow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Multiply

Color:#7a7a7a

Uncheck the Use Global Light box

Angle: 132°

Distance: 0 px

Choke: 18%

Size: 35 px

Check the Anti-aliased box

Step 4

Add an Inner Glow with these settings:

Blend Mode: Linear Burn

Opacity: 24%

Color:#6a6a6a

Technique: Softer

Source: Edge

Choke: 60%

Size: 38 px

Check the Anti-aliased box

Step 5

Add a Satin style with these settings:

Blend Mode: Linear Burn

Color:#000000

Opacity: 13%

Angle: 0°

Distance: 45 px

Size: 46 px

Check the Anti-aliased box

Check the Invert box

Step 6

Add a Color Overlay with these settings:

Blend Mode: Overlay

Color:#224d66

Opacity: 80%

Step 7

Add a Pattern Overlay with these settings:

Blend Mode: Normal

Opacity: 100%

Pattern: denim-texture

Scale: 50%

Step 8

Finally, add a Drop Shadow to our Photoshop text effect with these settings:

Blend Mode: Multiply

Color:#000000

Opacity: 36%

Uncheck the Use Global Light box

Angle: 105°

Distance: 9 px

Spread: 11%

Size: 8 px

Check the Anti-aliased box

Hit OK to apply the text effect.

And this is the result of the text effect applied to our Photoshop action.

6. How to Add and Style the Jeans Stitch

We are almost done with our Photoshop action. The last thing we need to add is a cool stitch to this text effect. So let's do it.

Step 1

Create a new layer by going to Layer > New > Layer and name it stitch. Then Control-click the jeans-base layer to make a selection. Go to Select > Modify > Contract, set the value to 24 px, and hit OK. Finally, go to your Paths panel and click the Make work path from selection icon at the bottom.

Step 2

Select your Brush Tool (B) and select jeans-stitch from the tutorial assets as your brush. Then right-click on the Work Path layer in Paths panel and select Stroke Path..., choose Brush as your tool, and hit OK. Lastly, hit Delete to delete the work path layer.

Step 3

Right-click on the stitch layer and select Blending Options. Then add a Bevel and Emboss with these settings:

Style: Pillow Emboss

Technique: Smooth

Depth: 200%

Direction: Up

Size: 9 px

Soften: 5 px

Uncheck the Use Global Light box

Angle: 90°

Altitude: 30°

Check the Anti-aliased box

Highlight Mode: Linear Dodge (Add) with color #ffffff

Highlight Mode - Opacity: 24%

Highlight Mode: Linear Burn with color #000000

Shadow Mode - Opacity: 18%

Step 4

Add a Color Overlay and choose the color #d19f5f. Then hit OK to apply the text effect. Now go back to your Actions panel and hit the Stop button at the bottom to stop recording this Photoshop action.

Congratulations! You're Done!

In this tutorial, you learned how to create a Photoshop action for a jeans text effect and also how to create your own denim texture using Photoshop filters.

We started by creating the main denim texture, and then we recorded an action for the jeans text effect using layer styles and a stitch brush.

I hope you have enjoyed this Photoshop action tutorial. Please feel free to leave your
comments, suggestions, and outcomes below. The text effect action we just
created is based on Stitched Leather and Jeans Actions.